Layered disposable glove

ABSTRACT

An ambidextrous, multi-layered, multi-colored, and disposable glove is disclosed. Each layer of the glove may be color-coded and easily removed revealing a new, clean glove layer of a different color. Each glove may include a removal feature providing the user with a quick and convenient mechanism to remove each layer of the glove. The gloves may include a number of layers that afford a user string tactile perceptiveness throughout each of the layers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/015,727, filed on Apr. 27, 2020, and titled “LAYEREDDISPOSABLE GLOVE,” the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

Aspects of the present disclosure related to protective hand wear, moreparticularly to a disposable protective glove.

BACKGROUND

Healthcare workers, food handlers and everyday citizens alike are morehealth and safety conscious than ever. Protective personal equipment(PPE) is a necessary tool in the prevention of the spread of infectiousdiseases, germs and other contaminants. Traditional PPE, includinggloves, masks, gowns and other garments and accessories must bedisposable. Reuse of such equipment furthers the possibility ofpropagating contaminating materials to other objects, surfaces, and evenpeople. The disposable nature of traditional PPE necessitates that awearer must dispose of the worn PPE as well as acquire and apply new,clean equipment. Disposal and reapplication of new PPE is time-consumingand tedious. Further, disposable gloves, such as latex or nitrilegloves, can be difficult to put on and assure proper fit, causingfurther delay and frustration.

Still further, disposable gloves may be frequently used in countlessapplications from painting, cooking, gardening, or any other activity inwhich the use of one's hands is prevalent. Often gloves may becomesoiled, worn, ripped or otherwise unusable for their intended purposeand the user is forced to remove and replace the gloves prior tocontinuing in the activity.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure include an ambidextrous,multi-layered, multi-colored glove assembly. Each layer of the gloveassembly may be color-coded and easily removed revealing a new, cleanglove layer/color. Each glove layer may include a removal featureproviding the user with a quick and convenient mechanism to remove eachlayer of the glove. The gloves may include a number of layers thatafford a user strong tactile perceptiveness throughout each of thelayers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, nature, and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome more apparent from the detailed description set forth below whentaken in conjunction with the drawings in which like referencecharacters identify correspondingly throughout.

FIG. 1A is a diagram of a palm-side of a glove assembly according to oneor more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a diagram of a back-side of a glove assembly according to oneor more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of various layers of a glove assembly according toone or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a user removing a layer of the glove assembly ofFIGS. 1A-B according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A is a diagram of a palm-side of second glove assembly accordingto one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a diagram of a back-side of a second glove assembly accordingto one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a user removing a layer of the glove assembly ofFIGS. 4a -4B according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for providing a thoroughunderstanding of the various concepts. It will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, however, that these concepts may be practicedwithout these specific details. In some instances, well-known structuresand components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoidobscuring such concepts.

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a disposable, ambidextrousglove including multiple color-coded and easily removable disposablelayers. The ambidextrous aspect of the glove means that a user can flipthe glove to fit on either their right-hand or left-hand. That is, thesame glove can be put on the opposite hands in different orientations.When a glove is on a user's left hand a portion of the glove is the palmof the glove, and that same glove may be put on the right hand but whatwas the palm on the left hand becomes a back portion of the glove.

Removal of the outermost layer may be accomplished using a removalfeature that allows the user to quickly and conveniently peel the layeroff to reveal a new, fresh glove layer underneath. According to oneaspect, each layer may be a different color according to a pre-definedand consistent pattern that indicates to the user the particular layernumber currently exposed. Gloves according to the disclosure could beany number of layers subject to the nature of material used, colorpalette, and desired tactile perceptiveness (how well the user needs tobe able to “feel” things through the layers of the glove(s) for itsintended use.

FIGS. 1A and 1B depict a palm-side and back-side of a glove assembly,respectively, according to one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure. The glove assembly may include individual overlaid layersmade of one or more materials, including, without limitation, latex,nitrile or other rubbers, plastics, silicone, neoprene, textiles or thelike. According to one aspect each glove may include five disposable,color-coded layers. Each overlaid layer may be consistently coloredaccording to a predefined palette. The multiple layers may be colorcoded to indicate to the user not only the specific numbered layercurrently exposed, but also how many layers remain before a new gloveassembly is required. For example, the five overlaid layers of eachglove may be color-coded according to the following palette:

First Layer—GREEN (GO)

Second Layer—BLUE

Third Layer—YELLOW

Fourth Layer—ORANGE

Fifth Layer—RED (STOP)

FIG. 2 depicts the individual color-coded layers of an exemplary gloveassembly according to one aspect. The progression of colors (left toright) from Green (Layer-01) to Blue (Layer-02) to Yellow (Layer-03) toOrange (Layer-04) to Red (Layer-05) is commonly known and easilyindicates to the user the availability of additional layers or the needto obtain a new set glove assembly. Additionally, the exemplary colorscheme may be ubiquitous and eliminate the need to label or otherwisemark the individual glove layers with words or text of differentlanguages.

According to one aspect, each glove may include a removal feature thatallows the user to remove the outermost layer quickly and convenientlyto reveal the next fresh and clean layer of the glove assembly. Eachlayer of the glove assembly may include a distinctly disposed tab at ornear the cuff of the glove. The tab of each layer may be spaced aboutthe circumference of the glove cuff such that the user may access thetab to any particular layer. For example, if a user desires to removethe entire glove assembly the user may use the tab coded to theinnermost layer, here red, to assist in removing the glove assemblywithout having to remove each layer individually.

FIG. 3 depicts a diagram of a user removing a layer of the gloveassembly of FIGS. 1A-B according to one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure. To remove the outermost layer, a user may simply grasp thetab of the particular layer currently exposed and pull upwards to peelthe layer off the assembly. The removed layer may then be disposed ofaccordingly.

FIGS. 4A-B depict the palm-side and back-side, respectively, of a secondglove assembly according to one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure. According to one aspect, the glove assembly of FIGS. 4A-Bincludes five layers, each with a color-coded removal feature. Thecolor-coded removal feature may include a hook portion defining a voidthrough which a user may insert a finger or other tool to assist inremoving the layer. The removal feature may further include aperforation in the glove layer material that further aides in removingthe layer.

In operation, as depicted in the diagram of FIG. 5 a user may grasp thehook portion through the void and pull upward or outward. The upward oroutward force may cause the perforation to tear loosening the layer fromthe under-layers and making for easy removal.

According to one aspect, the layers of the glove assembly may be auniform color, however each removal feature hook portion may becolor-coded as described above. Each hook portion may be spaced aboutthe circumference of the cuff portion of the glove assembly to allow theuser easy access to any layer of the glove assembly.

While the glove assemblies described herein include a color-coded schemeaccording to a certain palette, one skilled in the art will recognizethat any color-scheme or one or more colors may be implemented withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

Further, while the exemplary glove assemblies described herein includefive layers, one skilled in the art will recognize that other layeredcombinations may be implemented without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Depending on the material of the individual layers,any number of layers may be implemented so long as tactile sensitivityand perceptiveness remains uncompromised.

Based on the teachings, one skilled in the art should appreciate thatthe scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect ofthe present disclosure, whether implemented independently of or combinedwith any other aspect of the present disclosure.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother aspects.

Although particular aspects are described herein, many variations andpermutations of these aspects fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure. Although some benefits and advantages of the preferredaspects are mentioned, the scope of the present disclosure is notintended to be limited to particular benefits, uses or objectives.Rather, aspects of the present disclosure are intended to be broadlyapplicable to different technologies, system configurations, networksand protocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in thefigures and in the following description of the preferred aspects. Thedetailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the presentdisclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the present disclosurebeing defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like.Additionally, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receivinginformation), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like.Furthermore, “determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing,establishing, and the like.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c.

1. A glove assembly comprising: a plurality of overlaid glove layers,each overlaid glove layer including a layer indicator and a removalfeature; in which the removal feature is configured to remove theoverlaid glove layer of the glove assembly exposing a next overlaidglove layer.
 2. The glove assembly of claim 1 in which the layerindicator comprises a unique color for each layer.
 3. The glove assemblyof claim 1 in which the plurality of overlaid glove layers comprisesfive overlaid layers
 4. The glove assembly of claim 3 in which the fiveoverlaid layers are color coded according to a palette.
 5. The gloveassembly of claim 4 in which the palette provides a first green layer, asecond blue layer, a third yellow layer, a fourth orange layer, and afifth red layer.
 6. The glove assembly of claim 1 in which the removalfeature comprises a tab disposed about a circumference of a cuff portionof the overlaid layer.
 7. The glove assembly of claim 6 in which the tabis disposed about the cuff portion providing a user access to the tabcorresponding to any of the overlaid glove layers.
 8. The glove assemblyof claim 1 in which the removal feature comprises a perforation in theoverlaid glove layer and a hook portion defining a void.
 9. The gloveassembly of claim 8 in which the perforation in the overlaid glove layerand the hook portion defining a void is disposed about the cuff portionproviding a user access to the perforation in the overlaid glove layerand the hook portion defining a void to remove a respective overlaidglove layer.
 10. The glove assembly of claim 1 in which only the removalfeature comprises a unique color for each layer.
 11. The glove assemblyof claim 1 in which each of the plurality of overlaid glove layers is anambidextrous glove.
 12. The glove assembly of claim 1 in which theplurality of overlaid glove layers include individual layers of onematerial selected from the group consisting of latex, nitrile rubber,plastic, silicon, neoprene, and a textile.
 13. The glove assembly ofclaim 1 in which the plurality of overlaid glove layers includeindividual overlaid layers of multiple materials selected from the groupconsisting of latex, nitrile rubber, plastic, silicone, neoprene, and atextile.
 14. The glove assembly of claim 4 in which the paletteindicates how many overlaid layers remain.
 15. A method of removing anoverlaid layer of a glove assembly, comprising: grasping at least oneremoval feature; and pulling at least one overlaid layer of the gloveassembly off the glove assembly.
 16. The method of claim 15 furthercomprising selecting a layer for removal based on a unique color of thelayer.
 17. The method of claim 15 in which the removal feature is a tabthat allows peeling off of an overlaid layer.
 18. The method of claim 15in which the removal feature comprises a perforation in the overlaidlayer and a hook defining a void that allows peeling or tearing off ofan overlaid layer.
 19. A layered glove assembly, comprising: means foridentifying at least one overlaid glove layer of the glove assembly; andmeans for removing the at least one overlaid glove layer of the gloveassembly.
 20. The apparatus of claim 20, in which the means for removingat least one layer of the glove assembly comprises a tab or aperforation and a hook defining a void in the at least one overlaidglove layer.